It’s pretty rare to see classic VW camper vans on the road – and you almost never see them as beautiful as this one.
Everyone, meet Edith, a 1976 Volkswagen T2 Camper. She’s orange, she’s cosy, she drives beautifully, and she’s ready to whisk you off on a blissful British weekend.
Edith has been lovingly and carefully restored by Happier Campers over in Oldham, where you can also rent her camper van pals Beryl, Bert and Ernie.
And while she’s small, she’s certainly mighty.
Inside, and included when you rent her out, you’ll find an expertly-fitted kitchen (complete with gas hob, sink and fridge, plus all your equipment), a comfy fold-out double bed plus another in the roof space, an on-board water supply, USB charging points, Bluetooth speakers, outdoor furniture and loads more.
ADVERTISEMENT
The attention to detail that’s gone into her restoration is remarkable. See that metal pole acting as a vase for some orange flowers? It’s actually a table leg, which you can screw into different parts of the van so you always have an extra surface.
That backwards-facing seat? Yeah, it’s also a kitchen cupboard.
ADVERTISEMENT
The rechargeable lantern? Also a Bluetooth speaker.
Sometimes the easiest way to switch off from your real life is to strip it right back – no WiFi, no screens, no takeaway drivers in sight – and Edith has just the right amount of creature comforts to allow you to do that in comfort.
Camper van Edith comes with outdoor furniture in your rental. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Edith, the classic VW camper van you can rent from Oldham. Credit: The Manc GroupBacon butty and champagne breakfast outside Edith. Credit: The Manc Group
Edith – who recently starred in Blossoms’ music video for What Can I Say After I Say I’m Sorry – turns heads everywhere she goes with her sunny orange exterior, and ended up being the talk of the campsite when we took her away to the Peak District for a weekend.
ADVERTISEMENT
A couple of days with Edith goes a bit like this…
You collect her from Happier Campers and have an induction into how everything works, from the gearbox to the pop-up rooftop.
Then it’s off to your chosen campsite to get all set up, cracking open a cold beer from the fridge or popping the kettle on as soon as you park up.
As night falls, switch on the fairy lights, cook yourself dinner, and get cosy either with a book or whatever films you’ve remembered to download, before unfolding the double bed and tucking in for the night.
Now let me tell you, the joy of sliding open your bedroom door to see a vista of mist creeping over rolling hills and sheep pottering about is unparalleled.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Pack Horse in Hayfield. Credit: The Manc GroupDinner at the Pack Horse in Hayfield. Credit: The Manc GroupKinder Reservoir in the Peak District. Credit: The Manc GroupCosy paradise inside Edith. Credit: The Manc GroupCosy paradise inside Edith. Credit: The Manc Group
And it only gets better when you start frying up some bacon and having a glass of champagne (don’t judge me) with that same view.
From the Hayfield Campsite, you’re perfectly positioned for a stroll up Kinder Scout or, if you want something gentler but equally as beautiful, around Kinder Reservoir.
The entire Peak District is on your doorstep – there are plenty of walks and routes plotted out by the team at the campsite so you don’t even need to plan far ahead, and there’s a pub just up the hill where you can reward yourself with a pint at the end.
Also on the doorstep is one of the UK’s best gastropubs, The Pack Horse, where you’re welcomed into a proper country pub space with a brilliant, seasonal menu and a resident dog (Lola will stare you out if she catches a whiff of cheese on your table).
The whole camping experience – even having to go for a walk to the toilet block every time you need a wee – feels completely magical, and makes you realise that you don’t have to travel a million miles to feel a million miles from Manchester.
ADVERTISEMENT
Views from Edith as you sail through the Peak District. Credit: The Manc GroupHappier Campers in Oldham. Credit: The Manc GroupDriving the classic VW camper van. Credit: The Manc Group
She has quirks, as all classic vehicles do, like a gearbox that will only go from first to second if you ask it very nicely, windscreen wipers that are even totally off or enthusiastically on, and a side door that insists on being slammed full-force, fellow sleeping campers be damned.
But all of that adds to her charm, and the longer you spend getting to know Edith the more this little van rewards you.
And one of the best bits about a weekend with Edith is the unbridled freedom she brings. Imagine just getting bored of driving so pulling up by a reservoir for a cup of tea and an episode of Netflix?
Or opening your bedroom door in the morning to see an ever-changing landscape of countryside?
This right here is retro, British holiday heaven.
ADVERTISEMENT
Find out more about how to rent camper van Edith or any of the other Happier Campers vans HERE.
Taemin at AO Arena: Take the K-pop world’s ‘Advice’ – you need to watch him live
Thomas Melia
This time last month, South Korean star, SHINee and SuperM boyband member, Taemin showed Manchester the real meaning of ‘The Rizzness’. It was our first K-pop gig and won’t be our last.
Normally, if you ask me what I’m getting up to on a Tuesday night, I’d respond with the usual: “Nothing.” Ask me this random but eye-opening night back in March 2025, and I’d say, “Watching the ‘Ephemeral Glaze’ tour”.
Opening with a song labelled ‘Déjà vu’, ironically, felt from the truth, as the minute the performer stepped onto the stage, the whole crowd was watching what felt like an all-new spectacle come to life – even for some of the already inducted K-pop fans inside the AO Arena.
Following up with ‘Guilty’, I’d be lying if I told you we didn’t love this performance. It wasn’t overshadowed by that unbelievable grand opening either – if anything, it was even better.
A majestic pose from Taemin at AO Arena in Manchester, performing to a lively crowd.Credit: Audio North
This was a setlist that just keeps on giving: after this, ‘Advice’ greets our ears and fans erupt in various screams and cries, to which Taemin, 31, certainly appreciated.
It’s high energy through and through, as the next song, ‘Idea’, felt like the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle for those of us not so used to this kind of music, well and truly captivating the Manc crowd.
Closing what was merely his opening segment with this song was definitely a good ‘Idea’… (sorry).
Its title may draw from a comedic viral term used to describe someone with great flirting skills, a.k.a. ‘rizz’, but ‘The Rizzness’ is no laughing matter.
Fans caught on quickly, and as soon as the first note was pumped out into the arena, the atmosphere reached whole new heights and those familiar screams at an other-worldly pitch returned.
I never thought I’d see the day where AO Arena screamed, “You know I got the rizz, the rizzness”, but there’s a first time for everything, I guess.
Taemin and his dancers were electric at AO Arena.Credit: The Manc Group
Being from Korea, 31-year-old Taemin tried his best to communicate with the crowd throughout the night, taking breaks after back-to-back performances to gauge the audience’s reactions.
The South Korean superstar didn’t take long to warm up to the crowd and showed off his cheeky side, telling the arena, “Only 4 more songs” before finishing the sentence with “I lied”.
‘Criminal’ had me and the rest of Manchester weak in the knees; the choreography was flawless throughout, but this was a true highlight. Ending with ‘Say Less’, Taemin knew exactly what he was doing, putting a song that catchy right at the end, as this was all that replayed in my head on the train home.
Put it this way, we may still be relative newbies to the world of Korean pop music, but with another big name heading to Manchester, we’re definitely keen to find out more.
The best Manchester-based anime-style memes we’ve seen online as Ghibli craze takes over
Danny Jones
Now, the internet can be used for a lot of silly and pointless things – you might argue us sharing our favourite memes every morning is a prime example of that – but we have to admit, the second we saw a Manchester-inspired Studio Ghibli image on social media, we were hooked.
If you have absolutely no idea what we’re talking about, there is a current craze that has taken over the internet, which has seen recognisable memes and images recreated in the style of the iconic Ghibli anime films, created by legendary animator and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.
Once you’ve found one, you tend to start spotting them more and more frequently, and in the case of the chronically online like us, we’ve been inundated with them for weeks now.
People are using AIto create them in various different contexts, but it won’t surprise you to learn that our favourite Ghibli/anime memes are those based around Manchester. For example:
Bloody hell, the internet really is brilliant sometimes, isn't it? 😂 https://t.co/virpFx60u7
As it happens, this was the first and perhaps still the best we’ve seen to date, but it didn’t stop us from falling down an animated rabbit hole looking for others.
To be honest, we didn’t actually have to do much searching ourselves as they’re absolutely all over the algorithm at the minute, and have been for a good month or so.
‘Ghibli memes’ may be an overgeneralisation of what is a rather specific and famed art style, but this ongoing flood of anime-style cartooons is being created by users giving prompts to ChatGPT, the increasingly popular large language model (LLM) and AI tool.
Designed with OpenAI software, the artificial intelligence chatbot can do everything from write extensive study notes and flash cards to fixing blurry images, writing computer code, entire essays and quite literally countless other things.
In this instance, people are just reimagining moments from the zeitgeist and famous memes in this style by feeding the image to ChatGPT, along with an ‘in the style of Studio Ghibli’ prompt.
One for the Blues…And the Reds.All of these images have been designed using ChatGPT. (Credit: Eleventh Minute/centredevils via X)
Pretty cool, right?
You’ll find that footballer Twitter (sorry, X*), in particular, is absolutely full of fan accounts recreating iconic club scenes in the Miyazaki art style, giving their favourite players big ‘Chibi’ eyes (another unique aspect of anime) and so on.
It’s all just a bit of a laugh, after all; even we here at The Manc put ChatGPT to the test back in June 2023 and asked it to design ‘the perfect day out in Manchester’ – to varying degrees of success, we might add.
As ever with machine-learning, the more information you feed it, the better the result and although we know these are original pictures being reimagined, it still goes to show just how impressive and varied AI is becoming.
We’ve also enjoyed some that aren’t necessarily Manc but are quintessential British humour or simply more universal memes.
Exhibits E and F…
Even after all these years, we feel like we still see this in some context at least once a week – and it still makes us laugh.‘What a sad little life, Jane…’Credit: brandsynario (via Instagram)/No Context Brits (via X)
Despite these memes riding a real wave right now, the Ghibli portrait fad is just that; there are plenty of other aesthetics being toyed with, too.
Actually, it already has, as we’ve now started coming across people making action figure versions of themselves and/or famous people, full decked out with accessories inside blister packs and everything.
On the other hand, many people are understandably concerned about what this means for artists and although there is no substitute for genuine human expression, whatever form that may come in, lots of people are railing against it as the possibility of AI-based pop music has been posited.
With that in mind, maybe the best twist we’ve seen is our very own Stanley Chow subverting the trend and doing Ghibli stuff in his equally iconic style. We’ll take these geometric gems over computer-generated imitations any day.
For now, it’s just a bit of fun and we confess we’ve got some light entertainment out of it, but the increasing possibilities being thrown up by AI in terms of art do pose a lot more complex questions.
We’ll finish with one final example because let’s be honest, there’s only really one thing on our minds at the minute – at least until the summer finally rolls around…
Let us know if you’ve seen any other fun examples and what you make of the whole Ghibli meme trend down in the comments.
Daisy Jackson -
26th October 2024 
